Wire supported brassiere



May 24 166 L. LANCES WIRE SUPPORTED BRASSIERE Filed June 18, 1964 INVENTOR. LEO LANCES ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,252,460 WIRE SUPPORTED BRASSIERE Leo Lances, North Salem, N.Y., assignor to Edith Lances, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 18, 1964, Ser. No. 376,158

9 Claims. (Cl. 128-47-3) The present invention relates to the manufacture of wire supported brassieres and is directed more specifically to improvements in the construction of and in the method of manufacture of a wire supported 'brassiere incorporating a cushioning strip in conjunction with the supporting wire.

In the construction of wire supported brassieres, it has been conventional practice to provide a strip of plushlike cushioning material about the wire, to prevent any discomfort from the wire itself or from the wire receiving channels provided to house the wire. In the manufacture of high quality lines of wire supported brassieres, it has been considered necessary and desirable to incorporate the plush-like cushioning material into the structure by costly and tedious hand sewing techniques, a principal purpose of which is to locate the required seams remotely from any body engaging surface of the cushioning material. These procedures, while providing a superior quality garment, are so costly as to preclude their utilization in connection with the manufacture of brassieres at a price suitable for mass merchandising.

Heretofore, in connection with the manufacture of cushioned, wire supported 'brassieres for the 'lower priced markets, it has been conventional to simply attach a rearwardly facing strip of cushioning material by spaced stitch lines straddling the supporting wire. However, expedients of this type have proved to be less than satisfactory, because the inner lines of stitching are exposed for direct contact with the wearer, along the outer edges of the cup-forming portions of the brassiere, and these exposed lines of stitching tend to be irritating, largely offsetting the supposedly comforting effect of the cushioning material.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel and improved construction and method of construction is provided for a wire supported, cushioned brassiere, which construction obviates the need for laborious hand sewing operations and which, at the same time, fully conceal and protect the wearer from stitch lines along the inner side of the supporting wire. With the construction of the invention, the fundamental advantages of the costly hand-sewn constructions are realized, while at the same time the manufacturing procedures are not substantially more complicated or difficult than those heretofore used in connection with the manufacture of more conventional, less costly constructions, which have proved less than satisfactory because of irritation arising from exposed stitch lines along the inner sides of the supporting wires. Thus, for the first time, it is possible to manufacture wire-supported, cushioned brassieres which incorporate the quality features of present, high priced constructions and which are capable of being priced at a low level suitable for mass merchandising.

For a better understanding of the invention and for a discussion of other features and advantages thereof, reference should be made to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a back elevational view of a brassiere incorporating the features of construction of the present invention;

3,252,460 Patented May 24, 1966 FIG. 2 is an exploded representational view illustrating the order of assembly of components incorporated in the brassiere of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a representational cross-sectional view illustrating the components of FIG. 2 during an intermediate stage of manufacture; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. l.

Referring now. to the drawing, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, the reference numeral 10 designates generally a brassiere construction in accordance with the invention, which includes a pair of cup-forming sections 11, 12, side bands 13, 14 secured to the outer edges of the cupforming sections, shoulder straps 15, 16, and other conventional elements, the details of which are not necessary to a full understanding of the invention. In the illustrated arrangement, cushioned wire supports 17, 18 are attached to the lower, outer edge areas of the cupforming sections 11, 12, and the subject matter of the present invention is directed specifically to the construction of these cushioned wire supports.

1 As shown particularly in FIG. 4, the outer, lower edge 19 of the cup-forming portion 12 is folded rearwardly upon itself and stitched, as at 21, to form a hem. A suitable supporting wire 22 is retained adjacent this hemmed outer edge 19 in a channel 23 formed by an opposed pair of channel forming strips 24, 25, which are stitched together in facing relation and secured to the outer edge of the cup-forming section 12 by spaced, generally parallel stitch lines 26, 27. It would be possible, of course, to form the wire retaining channel 23 by means of the channel forming strip 24 alone, secured directly to the outer edge region of the cup-forming section 12 without the interposition of the front channel forming strip 25, although it is advantageous from the standpoint of better protection and concealment of the wire to provide the additional channel forming strip.

As illustrated particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3, the respective channel forming strips 24, 25 are in the form of elongated strips of suitable fabric folded longitudinally and pressed to provide central longitudinal portions 24a, 25a and outer longitudinal portions 24!), 24c, 25b, 25c. The outer longitudinal portions are folded upon each other and are of less width than the central portions 24a, 25a, so that the free edges of the outer portions terminate short of the principal edges of the channel forming strips. Advantageously, in the assembly of the channel forming strips to the cup-forming section 12, by means of the spaced stitched lines 26, 27, central portions of the channel forming strips are arranged facing each other, and the stitch lines 26, 27 are located outside of the free edges of the longitudinal strip portions 24b, 24c, 25b, 250, so that-flap-like portions remain free.

In accordance with the invention, and as a most significant specific feature thereof, a strip 28 of plush-like cushioning material is secured by its inner edge region 29 to the edge areas of the cup section 12 with its cushioned or plush surface 30 facing in a forward direction. Most advantageously, the attachment of the inner edge 29 is accomplished by means of the stitch line 26 which extends along the inner edges of the channel forming strips 24, 25 and secures those strips to the edge of the cup-forming section 12. The cushioning strip 28, is then folded in a rearward and outward direction around the inner edge extremities (31, FIG. 3) of the channel forming strips 24, 25 and to a point adjacent the outer edge extremities (32, FIG. 3) of the channel forming strips. The outer edge 33 of the cushioning strip, which is advantageously folded over and stitched at 34 to form a narrow hem, is secured along the outer edge extremities of the channel forming strips, as by means of a stitch line 35 (FIG. 4).

It is of course, understood, that the above described construction, which relates specifically to the cushioned wire support 18 for the cup section 12, is applicable also to the cushioned support 17.

In the most advantageous procedure for manufacturing a cushioned wire-supported brassiere according to the above construction is illustrated representatively in the sequence of views in FIGS. 2-4. In FIG. 2, there is shown a prehemmed cup-forming section 12 having disposed thereabove, in the order named, a strip 28 of plush-like cushioning material, with a prehemmed outer (with reference to its ultimate location) edge 33, a prefolded channel forming strip 25, with its central portion 25a facing upward, and a similar prefolded channel forming strip 24 disposed with its central longitudinal portion 24a facing downward. These components are positioned in assembled relation substantially as indicated in FIG. 3, and a double line of stitching 26, 27 is applied, simultaneously to secure both edges of the channel forming strips 24, 25 and the inner edge of the cushioning Strip 28 to the outer edge area of the cupforming section 12. Thereafter, the prchemmed cushioning strip 28 is folded rearward and outward over the back of the exposed channel forming strip 24 and secured by a single line of stitching 35 to complete the assembly. The supporting wire 22 may be inserted in its guide channel at a subsequent stage.

The new construction is particularly advantageous in i that the inner edge region of the cushioned support is assembled and secured to the cup-forming portion 12 by means of a line of stitching 26, which is completely concealed by the cushioning material and kept out of contact with the body of the wearer. Heretofore, constructions incorporating concealed and protected stitching along the inner edge of the support have involved costly and tedious hand sewing operations. However, as described herein, the concealed stitch line 26 may be applied in a machine operation, along with the stitch line 27, during the intermediate manufacturing stage illustrated in FIG. 3. The line of stitching 35, by which the outer edge of the cushion material is secured over the outer edge extremities of the channel forming strips, is an exposed stitch line, but this stitch line is located on the outer side of the supporting wire 22, where it can cause no irritation or discomfort.

By providing a cushioned, wire-supported brassiere construction, in which a strip of cushioning material is first secured face forward along its inner edge and then folded over and secured face rearward along its outer edge, it is possible to realize in a machine-manufactured, mass produced brassiere the quality features which have been available heretofore only in the high priced lines sold in exclusive shops and stores.

It should be understood, of course, that the exact form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain modifications may be made without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope-of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of manufacturing a wire supported, irritation-free brassiere, which comprises (a) providing a cup-forming section,

(b) forming a wire-receiving channel along an outer edge region of said cup-forming section by securing at least one channel-forming strip to said cup- ,forming section,

(c) initially securing the inner lateral edge only of a strip of plush-like cushioning material between said cup-forming section and the inner edge of said channel-forming strip,

(d) turning said other edge of said cushioning material outward over the channel-forming strip, and

(e) securing said other edge of said cushioning material to said cup-forming section adjacent the outer lateral edge of said channel-forming strip with its cushioning surface facing away from said section.

2. The method of claim 1, in which (a) said wire-receiving channel is formed by a pair of superposed channel forming strips secured along spaced inner and outer stitch lines to the cup-forming section and forming the channel between the strips and between the stitch lines,

(b) said cushioning material being initially secured by the inner one of said stitch lines.

3. The method of claim 2, in which (a) prior to the initial securing of said cushioning material, the outer edge of the strip of said material is folded upon itself and stitched to form a cushioned hem, and

(b) the outer edge of said cushioning material 15 secured to said cup-forming section by said hem.

4. A wire-supported brassiere comprising (a) a pair of sections generally forming a pair of cups,

(b) channel strips secured along outer circumferential portions of each of said sections and cooperating with said sections to define wire-receiving channels,

(c) arcuate supporting wires retained in each of said channels and defining predetermined circumferential cup edges,

(d) strips of plushlike cushioning material secured along lateral edges thereof within each of said cups in a forward facing manner and in super-imposition with lateral edges of said channel strips and said cup sections by first lines of stitching,

(e) said cushioning strips being reversely folded into an overlying relation with said first lines of stitching, said channel strips and said wires,

(f) said cushioning strips thereby covering in a rearwardly facing manner said first lines of stitching within said cups, said channel strips, and said wires,

(g) said cushioning strips having their other lateral edges secured without said cups,

(11) whereby said cushioning material provides irritation-free surfaces adjacent the inner edges of said cups.

5. The wire-supported brassiere of claim 4, in which (a) the outer lateral edge portions of the strips of cushioning material are prehemmed, and

(b) the prehemmed edges are secured to said cup sections.

6. The wire-supported brassiere of claim 5, in which (a) said channel strips are secured by generally parallel spaced inner and outer stitch lines,

(b) said first lines of said stitching include said inner stitch lines,

(c) the outer lateral edges of each of said strips of cushioning material are secured by further lines of stitching generally parallel to said inner and outer stitch lines.

7. The wire-supported brassiere of claim 6, which includes (a) a pair of superposed channel strips secured along circumferential portions of each of said cup sections and defining between them and between said inner and outer stitch lines said wire-receiving channel.

8. The wire-supported brassiere of claim 7, in which (a) said channel strips are prefolded strips, each having a central longitudinal portion and outer longitudinal portions folded over on the central portion and partly overlapping each other,

(b) the strips of a superposed pair being disposed with their respective central portions directly facing each other and defining said Wire-receiving channel, (c) the folded-over outer portions extending only part of the distance across said central portion, and (d) said spaced stitch lines being located between the side edges of the central longitudinal portion and the free edges of said outer longitudinal portions. 9. The Wire-supported brassiere of claim 4, in which (a) said strips of plushlike cushioning material are secured Within each of said cups between said channel strips and said cup sections.

References Cited by the Examiner ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A WIRE SUPPORTED, IRRITATION-FREE BRASSIERE, WHICH COMPRISES (A) PROVIDING A CUP-FORMING SECTION, (B) FORMING A WIRE-RECEIVING CHANNEL ALONG AN OUTER EDGE REGION OF SAID CUP-FORMING SECTION BY SECURING AT LEAST ONE CHANNEL-FORMING STRIP TO SAID CUPFORMING SECTION, (C) INITIALLY SECURING THE INNER LATERAL EDGE ONLY OF A STRIP OF PLUSH-LIKE CUSHIONING MATERIAL BETWEEN SAID CUP-FORMING SECTION AND THE INNER EDGE OF SAID CHANNEL-FORMING STRIP, (D) TURNING SAID OTHER EDGE OF SAID CUSHIONING MATERIAL OUTWARD OVER THE CHANNEL-FORMING STRIP, AND (E) SECURING SAID OTHER EDGE OF SAID CUSHIONING MATERIAL TO SAID CUP-FOMING SECTION ADAJCENT THE OUTER LATERAL EDGE OF SAID CHANNEL-FORMING STRIP WITH ITS CUSHIONING SURFACE FACING AWAY FROM SAID SECTION. 